Co-workers child has chicken pox

Just wanted peoples thoughts on a little predicament.

I work in a small workplace (5 of us but large showroom) and today & tomorrow I have to work with a co-worker who has a child with chicken pox. She has never had it, I have never had it & either has my husband. She has to work because one other staff member is currently hospitalised & neither my boss or our other healthy co-worker (both whom have had the pox) have offered to work, as it is their days off.

My boss thinks it's no big deal but I'm a bit worried as we were supposed to ttc next month. It's too little too late to be vaccinated or have blood tests. I do work in retail so I guess I probably would have been subject to it before but the fact that I might have to use the same cash register etc just worries me.

Honestly i wouldnt be too worried about it. Its chicken pox,many people have had chicken pox and been fine. Its more annoying than dangerous.

And just FYI, i have never had the chicken pox, even after being exposed to it as a child and an adult. I was in the same house as my brother as a child when he got it...he was covered, head to toe...and i never got it, many friends growing up had it, i was sent to their houses to try and get it. Plus my FIL had shingles as an adult and i never got it. I seem to have some kind of natural immunity to it. BTW, i havent been vaxed for it...wasnt around when i was vaxed as a child.

Honestly i wouldnt be too worried about it. Its chicken pox,many people have had chicken pox and been fine. Its more annoying than dangerous.

And just FYI, i have never had the chicken pox, even after being exposed to it as a child and an adult. I was in the same house as my brother as a child when he got it...he was covered, head to toe...and i never got it, many friends growing up had it, i was sent to their houses to try and get it. Plus my FIL had shingles as an adult and i never got it. I seem to have some kind of natural immunity to it. BTW, i havent been vaxed for it...wasnt around when i was vaxed as a child.

It will be interesting if i get it when (if) my kids get it.

Yeah sorry that is an incredibly uninformed comment. Chicken pox may Not be a big deal to you but for an adult it can be incredibly serious.

Yes i know its more serious in adults. My point was i havent got it yet and im in my 30s and been exposed many times. Since the op hasnt had it yet and shes an adult, has most likely been exposed before and hasnt actually come in direct contact with someone who has it, its possible she wont get it. Just trying to reasure the OP that she should be fine.

Make an appointment to see a doctor asap and have a talk to them about it. You can get vaccinated after exposure and it can reduce the severity. I think its something like as long as you're vaccinated within 3 days of exposure. We've been through this last year with DH. The dr said there is also an antibody injection they can give you if you've never had chicken pox and are exposed to it. I don't remember the details because it was last year and my brain has gone fuzzy, but its definitely not too late to talk to a dr and get protected!

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OP, I've had chicken pox as an adult so I can understand your concern, especially if you're TTC next month.

Loislane2012 - I don't think it's unreasonable for the OP to be worried. Chicken Pox can be transmitted by sneezing and coughing and the incubation period is around 2 weeks, so I guess the worry is if her work colleague contracts it, she won't get symptoms for 14-16 days. Then, in the couple of days before symptoms appear, she could then infect others who also may not know they have it until symptoms appear another 14-16 days after that.

So OP may not realise she's caught it until a month later, when she may have already conceived.

High-risk groups for chickenpox

People at increased risk of catching or having complications from chickenpox include:

newborn babies – there is an increased risk of severe illness in the first 28 days of life

pregnant women – who have not had chickenpox or been immunised for chickenpox

people who have a weakened immune system – people with leukaemia or Hodgkin’s disease, or those taking immunosuppressive medications, are at risk of longer and more serious illness.

Chickenpox is spread by air-borne droplets from the upper respiratory tract (droplets are caused when the infected person coughs or sneezes) or from touching the fluid from the blisters on the skin. An infected person is contagious for one to two days (possibly five days) before the onset of the rash and remains infectious until the blisters form scabs (usually around day five of the illness).

For chickenpox, the time from infection to the appearance of the rash (incubation period) is around 14 to 16 days.

**If you have chickenpox for the first time during pregnancy, you can become seriously ill with conditions such as pneumonia, hepatitis and encephalitis.

If a pregnant woman is infected with chickenpox in the first 20 weeks of pregnancy, there is a risk of congenital varicella syndrome, which can cause abnormalities.

Yes i know its more serious in adults. My point was i havent got it yet and im in my 30s and been exposed many times. Since the op hasnt had it yet and shes an adult, has most likely been exposed before and hasnt actually come in direct contact with someone who has it, its possible she wont get it. Just trying to reasure the OP that she should be fine.

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